Folding settee.



P. A. JOHNSON.

FOLDING SETTEE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1912.

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FOLDING SETTEE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.1Z,1912.

Patented Sept. 15.1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR WITNESSES PHILIP A. JOHNSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, OREGON.

FOLDING SETTEE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

Application filed November 12, 1912. Serial No. 730,842.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP A. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residin at Springfield, in the county of Lane and tate of Oregon, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Settees, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to settees 01' seats of that character which fold so that the seat portion proper lies in an upright plane with the back-rest, when not 1n use and in such manner as to condense the device.

The principal objects of my. invention are to rovide a settee of the character descri ed which is substantial, simple in construction, and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a settee of the character described, well adapted for use in concert halls, theaters, or other public buildings, which may be disposed, so that when folded, aisles or exit passages, of considerable width, are provided between rearwardly extending tiers of settees, permitting the room to be quickly cleared in case of fire,.or other danger.

The invention contemplates the provision of a settee in so far as it enables heavy persons to be accommodated, as readily as light persons, and in that the seat portion may be supported from a standard disposed centrally of its ends, thus, when two adjacent settees are folded, an aisle of substantially the width of a settee is provided between said standards. I

Other objects of my invention will appear inthe following detailed construction, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a settee embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the settee folded. Fig. 4: is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, refer to similar parts, ard structure adapted to be rigidly secured to the floor, as by braces 7. This standard structure comprises an upright 8, and two ledges9, extending forwardly of upright 8 at both sides of the standard. To the upright 8 I pivot back rests 10, as by hinges 11, these back-rests extending laterally at both 6 designates a standwhere similar characterssides of said upright, so as to swing toward each other and lie in substantially parallel planes when not in use. Each back rest 10 carries a seat portion 12, pivoted thereto as by hinges 13, so as to be swung upwardly and lie in an upright plane, or in other words, in juxtaposed relation to the backrest it is carried by. When in a position for service, the seat portion rests upon one of the ledges 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The ledges 9 may have keys 14, to fit into key recesses 15 in the bottoms of seats 12 when they are in a serving position, or, it may be desirable to provide the keys on the seat portions, and form the coacting recesses in ledges 9.

Laterally of each back-rest I pivot an arm 16, as at 17, and to each seat portion I pivot a leg 18, as at 20, this leg being also pivoted to the arm as at 19. Asclearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, these legs 18 support the seat portions 12, at their outer margins, when they are in a serving position, and by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the arms 16 and legs 18 lie longitudinally of'the back-rests 10 and seat portions 12, respectively, when the settee'is folded.

The seat portions 12 may have springs 21 so disposed as to normally retain them in a folded position. These springs may be coiled-about the spindles of hinges 13, with an extension engaging and seat portion toaccomplish this purpose. Likewise, the back-rests 10 may have springs 22 which act thereupon, and upon upright 8, to normally swing the back-rests toward each other, to lie longitudinally of the plane of the standard.

The upright 8 is preferably of a width slightly greater than the combined thickness of seat portions 12 so that they are easily accommodated in juxtaposed relation to each other between the back-rests, when folded, to condense the device as much as possible. Furthermore, it is desirable to arch the legs 18 inwardly so that they lie in close proximity to the front of standard 6 when the deviceis folded, and because of the desideratum to have the back-rests 10 rearwardly inclined when open. Stops 23 may be provided to limit rearward movement of the back-rests 10. I

The operation of the device is as follows: When the. settee is to be brought into use, the back-rests 10 are first swung rearwardly the back-rest tions 12 are then lowered, which action positions the legs,

I 18, to act in combination with ledges 9 to support said seat'portions in a serving position. The keys 14L fitting into recesses 15, in combination with stops 23 prevent the elements from moving from a position for service. As soon-as the seat portions are moved slightly from a serving position, they are, responsive to action of springs 21 and 22, quickly swung into juxtaposed relation to each other. This condenses the device such as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

. Changes in details may be made Without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention; but,

- I claim:

A settee having unconnected seat members and'a back rest for each seat member, each of said seat members being hinged to its back rest for upward movementagainst its back rest independently of the other seat member, a standard intermediate said-seats, said backs being mounted from said standard for inward folding movement subsequent to folding of the seats whereby the seats may lie in juxtaposed relation to the back rests when the back .rests have been folded, springs to urge the back rests to folded position, stops on the standard for engagement by the back rests for limitation of unfolding movement, means to support the seats in unfolded position including ledge members, on which the seat members rest, one on each side of the standard, one set of said members having keys and the other set of said members having recesses receiving said keys, said standard having a seat section thereon intermediate and above the ledges fixed with respect to the standard to join the seats and arranged to practically abut the inner edges of the seatsand have its upper surface flush with the upper surfaces of the seats whereby a contlnuous smooth seat surface is provided.

PHILIP A. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

CHAs. L. Scorr, E. C; BAKER. 

